To Make You Smile
by FicletMistress
Summary: In which Zack is very late for his date with Aerith and uses a few of the tricks up his sleeve to earn her forgiveness. Fluffy gift for a friend from Spain.


**Long time no see guys! First off, for anyone following One Year of Love, I'll try to kick Roxas and Axel into gear so I can post April when I get home next month, but no guarantees.**

**This story is a gift for a girl in my class here in Spain, Laura, who drew me a picture of Leon (she doesn't mind that the story is in English xD). It should be noted that, due to my lack of knowledge, this ficlet takes place before Zack knows Aerith is an Ancient (with natural healing powers). Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Final Fantasy.**

-o-

He was late. Zack Fair, a First Class SOLDIER who was known for literally laughing in the face of danger, flinched visibly at the time that stared back at him from his mobile. He hadn't realized that testing the military's new weaponry would take so long. The regular army divisions of ShinRa Corporation were dead set on proving that their machines were better than the SOLDIER program, and it showed in the power and sheer number of machines they had sent after him.

Their stupid stubbornness had made him an hour and a half late for his date. Aerith would understand, but that wouldn't ease the guilt that was accumulating in his stomach; it would only make him feel worse. A real man would never make his lady wait!

Snapping his phone shut, Zack sighed and looked to the open door of the abandoned church. He would just have to give her the best date ever to make up for it. With that happy thought in mind, the warrior peeked inside the rundown building. Immediately he spotted Aerith, who was kneeling in front of her flowerbed with her back to the door, completely absorbed in her work as usual. A mischievous grin crossed Zack's face as he slipped off his heavy uniform boots and tiptoed into the church. With a level of stealth only obtainable through rigorous training and socked feet, the dark-haired man crouched down behind the flower girl and slid his fingers over her eyes.

Aerith squeaked in surprise and toppled backwards into Zack, who steadied her again with a hand on her shoulder. "Zack!" she scolded, looking up at him with a flustered glare. "Don't sneak up on me like that. You know better!"

"Aw, but Aerith..." he whined, puppy dog pout in place, "I like it when you fall into my arms. Then I get to snuggle you like a little stuffed chocobo." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and nuzzled his nose into her hair to emphasize his point, making Aerith giggle.

"Alright, alright, enough! That tickles!" She whacked his shoulder gently, trying to ignore the color that was rising in her cheeks. When he released her, she turned to chide him further only to gasp in shock. "Zack! You're hurt!"

"... I am?" Zack blinked at her innocently, but the look Aerith gave him broke through his act, causing him to rub at the back of his neck in an embarrassed fashion. "Well, I was so late already, and I was out of potions, so... and it doesn't hurt really..." He trailed off when Aerith took hold of his wrist to inspect his previously bleeding arm.

"What happened?"

"Well... the peacekeeping troops and weapons development divisions get really competitive with the SOLDIERS. They design new weapons and ask us to test them, and since I didn't have any other missions today, I figured I could help them out. But they were really stubborn today! It's like they decided to send everything after me at once. I'm fine though, really, just a few scrapes and bruises," he added quickly, laughing a bit awkwardly. "You don't have an extra potion by chance, do you?"

Aerith muttered something under her breath that sounded very much like "brutes" before shaking her head. "I don't, but..." She chewed her lip in a worried way, as though she was torn between deciding something.

Zack thought it was absolutely precious. "That's okay. I'll get patched up when I get home. I'm not letting a little booboo get in the way of my date with you." He winked at her and settled into a more comfortable sitting position. "So don't worry about it, okay?"

"No, wait! We should clean it at least, and I can... I have some materia that we could use..."

The SOLDIER's eyes lit up. "You do? I figured you didn't like that sort of stuff, so you wouldn't..."

"The slums aren't always safe, Mr. Fair. A girl has to be prepared." Her confidence back in place, Aerith rose to fetch her basket of things only to be stopped by Zack's hand on her arm. The serious expression on his face surprised her when looked back.

"Did someone try to hurt you?" Zack asked quietly, voice full of a protective concern that she had never heard before.

It warmed her heart and left her feeling flustered again "No one has tried anything," she assured him gently. "Besides, who would dare when I have big, bad, SOLDIER first class Zack Fair coming to visit me?"

Her words seemed to put the warrior at ease, for he released her with a small grin. "I guess so. But if you ever have a problem, you come to me right away, got it?"

"Of course," Aerith nodded and put her hands firmly on her hips. "But right now you are going to stay put and let me fuss over you, understood?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Zack replied, saluting Aerith in a cheeky way that rendered them both unable to suppress their smiles as Aerith turned to her basket in order to shuffle through her things. The man's expression shifted to puzzlement, however, when Aerith turned around with a triumphant sound, holding only a cloth and a bottle of water in her hand. He hadn't seen the telltale flash of light that signaled materia being equipped. Where had the materia gone?

"Sensing his confusion, Aerith cleared her throat uncomfortably and returned to kneel in front of the SOLDIER. "Ready to get patched up?"

"More than ready," Zack answered, quickly replacing his puzzled look with a grin. While he treasured every expression Aerith made, he loved her smile the best. "After all, it isn't every day that I get to be healed by an angel."

Aerith didn't even have a chance to hold back the blush that overtook her face. She pinched Zack's cheek in a scolding manner. "We've gone over this already, Zack! Or did you get hit on the head today?" She was still smiling, however, and Zack couldn't have felt happier if he had won the Midgar lottery. That flattered, embarrassed smile was his absolute favorite out of all of the faces she made, and one that he didn't get to see nearly enough.

"You just make it hard to remember, Aer."

The brunette forced herself to recover and shook her head at the man, as though exasperated. "That's quite enough out of you, Mr. Fair. I'm going to heal you now, and you're going to sit there and be quiet. Zack laughed and made a show of zipping his lips shut. "Much better. Now, let's have a look at your arm."

As Aerith set about her task, the SOLDIER found himself transfixed with the way her expressions changed with each passing though. There was something about the way she furrowed her brow when she leaned in close to inspect the injury, only to realize how deep it had been; the way relief filled her eyes when she casted a cure spell and saw it take effect immediately; the way concern tugged her lips into another frown when she began gently cleaning the dried blood and dirt from the freshly-closed wound and noticed how long the man had left it unattended. There was something about the way she left her emotions unguarded when she concentrated that made Zack want to steal her away and keep her by his side, where he could always protect her.

It also gave him mischievous ideas.

Zack waited patiently with his lips sealed, as he had promised, until at last Aerith set her cloth aside and gave his arm a cheerful pat. "There, that's better," she said. Green eyes lifted to meet Zack's and widened sheepishly when they saw how intently he had been watching her. His normally cheeky countenance, however, had been replaced with something much more tender. Aerith cleared her throat again, trying to suppress the butterflies that had suddenly risen in her stomach. "Any other injuries, or should I put my things away?"

"Well…" A bashful look crossed Zack's face suddenly. "I didn't tell you earlier, 'cause I didn't want you to worry, but… I kinda got hit on the head during one of the tests. The headache's gone mostly, but it still hurts to touch…"

"Of course I'm going to worry!" the brunette exclaimed with enough angry concern in her voice to guilt even the most emotionless warriors. "You should have told me right away, though! How hard were you hit? Did they stop the tests?"

Zack waved his hands quickly, trying to calm her. "It wasn't that bad, I promise! I didn't get knocked out of anything. I'll just have a bruise." Aerith's glare didn't lessen any, and he set a hand on her knee gently, trying a different tactic. "If I had really been hurt bad, all the tests would have been cancelled immediately so that I could've gotten help. It was just a bump that gave me a small headache, though, so please, don't be angry with me?"

The two held a small staring contest until at last Aerith sighed in defeat. "Alright… I'm not happy about it, but I'm not mad at you." In her mind, ShinRa and everything associated with the company would always be brutish and overly violent, but she would have to trust Zack to take care of himself. "Tell me where it hurts so I can fix your booboo."

The playful expression was back on Zack's face in an instant. "Now you sound like my mother." He brought up a finger and tapped the right side of his head. "Right here. Are you going to kiss it and make it better?"

"No, silly, I'm going to heal it and make it better."

"Aw but Aer, kisses _are_ healing. They're like super powered healing spells! Please?" he whined, dragging the last word out in a childish way that made Aerith roll her eyes.

"Okay, but only if you promise to be more careful from now on. Deal?" She could have sworn that she had seen a mischievous glint in his eye, but chose to ignore it when Zack nodded in agreement. "Then look away so I can get a better look," she said, twirling two fingers in a small circle.

Zack tilted his head to the side as he was told, all the while keeping his gaze on the girl as she leaned in to inspect this new "wound." The moment Aerith was close enough, he swung his head back just in time to catch her lips with his own in a sweet kiss.

It lasted only a few seconds before Zack pulled back, looking pleased as punch. Aerith, on the other hand, was staring at him with what the SOLDIER deemed to be his new favorite "Aerith expression": utter surprise with a hint of joy, complemented by a tomato-red face. He'd be hard-pressed to find a cuter look than that.

"You see, Aerith?" he teased, poking her nose lightly. "I told you kisses were super powered healing spells. I'm all better now!" Zack flung his arms out to the sides as though to demonstrate, not minding that she was too baffled to form a response. "All my injuries are gone! I could take on the world! Build a hundred flower carts!"

He jumped to his feet as though he couldn't contain his excitement. But instead of bouncing around like a restless child, he held out a hand to the flower girl with a warm smile. "I could take you out to a delicious dinner to try to make up for being an hour and a half late for our date. What do you say? Sound good?"

At last a brilliant smile broke out across Aerith's face. "Y-yes!" she gushed, finding her voice again. "I mean, that might make up for being late some." With a shyness she hadn't shown before, Aerith accepted his hand. "But it doesn't make up for tricking me about being hurt."

With a tug, Zack pulled her up and into his chest, where he caught her in a one-armed hug. "Well then, get your stuff together so we can go. I've got a lot of making up to do!"

He didn't let go, however, and chose to snuggle Aerith further until she whacked him away with a laugh. As she moved about to collect her things, Zack watched her with a grin that wasn't about to fade anytime soon. There was a new spring to her step that he had been the cause of, and Zack was determined to spend the rest of the evening finding new ways to make Aerith smile brighter than the sun that never reached the slums.

-o-

**Fun fact: Did you know that the words "geek," "nerd," and "dork" are summed up into the single word "friki" (pronounced "freaky") here in Spain?**

**Thanks to Ms. Meow for editing, and thank YOU, dear reader, for reading!**


End file.
